Re: tomato

Sun Feb 14, 2010 4:27 pm

The late blight last year has been traced to a plant nursery in Nova Scotia. Unfortunately this fungus spread very quickly across the US east. It is believed that it was spread by plants sold by the Big Box stores. What can be done? OK, lets start at the beginning with early blight. Early blight is Alternaria solani. This fungus overwinters in the soil and can do so for many years without a host. It is spread by the wind and insects. Late blight is Phytophthora infestans. It travels fast and can infect many plants in the blink of an eye. A fungus is probably the hardest thing to control in the garden. Unlike a bug that can be squished or poisoned fungus may take a few years to control. First do not plant tomatoes where they were last year. Use a 3 or 4 year rotation if possible. Do not compost tomato vines after harvest destroy them. Do not plant tomatoes next to Irish potatoes. Buy only seed certified as disease free. If you start the seeds yourself be sure the medium is sterilized. A regular spray schedule starts soon after transplanting and continues threw harvest. 7 to 10 days is a starting point and can be changed down to meet current conditions. Late blight may seem sporadic because requires mild moist weather. A heavy mulch will help regulate moisture. Both early and late blight can be treated with a fungicide. chlorothalonil, fixed copper, maneb or mancozeb, Quadris, Ridomil Gold Bravo have been used successfully. As always, follow the label to the letter. Also the mention of any chemical or trade name is for illustration only and is not a recommendation by me.

Re: tomato

Sun Feb 14, 2010 8:38 pm

Thanks Dan!----I kinda wondered bout the IMPORT disease thingy!---Thats another reason I hate the foreign seeds/varieties of veggies flooding our markets!----I have noticed that our seed packets list all kinds of countries as their origin and who knows what they contain!----Time to think about the bio-terrorism threat/issue that came out many years ago! thanks; sonny

Re: tomato

Mon Feb 15, 2010 8:21 pm

i heard if you put crushed egg shells under your maters that it help with blossom end rot. something to do with the calcium?

Re: tomato

Re: tomato

Tue Feb 16, 2010 8:36 am

Blossom End Rot is caused by calcium deficiency in the developing fruit. Adding egg shells, a source of calcium, may help if some other things are OK. Usually it's the roots inability to take up calcium. Only a soil test can say that the soil is deficient of calcium. Usual causes of the roots inability to take calcium are over fertilizing or to much or to little moisture in the soil. Too much fertilizer will leave salts in the root area blocking calcium uptake. If the soil is to wet it may be a drainage problem. To dry can be helped with heavy mulch. Another thing is excessive plant growth that can rob the tomato roots of the calcium. So, get that soil test and if needed apply lime or gypsum. Calcium chloride can be used as a foliage spray but may not give the results you are looking for. Good Luck. Keep us posted.

Re: tomato

Tue Feb 16, 2010 9:03 pm

Hello Bill, Appreciate the link about blossom end rot. Do you think we could start a thread and just keep adding links like this just for gardening? When I go back a few weeks after seeing something of interest it always takes a while to find the right thread. I would just add it to my favorites but have too many now.